Jack Crawford apparently moved from London to the United States a year ago to pursue a basketball career.
Now, though, the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder is coming to Penn State to play football, probably at defensive end.
He could be one of the most underrated recruits around.
“He’s not yet a ready-made player, but he’s got the body of a big-time football player,” said Tom Lemming, a national recruiting expert based near Chicago. “If you’re going to take a chance, take a chance on (him) because it could pay huge dividends down the line.
“It’s a very smart pickup .¤.¤. and in four years you could be talking about an All-American.”
Crawford had a good enough football debut last fall at St. Augustine Prep in Richland, N.J. to attract major college recruiting interest. Pitt, Boston College, Rutgers offered scholarships and Michigan and Ohio State were pressing him.
But Crawford recently gave a commitment to Penn State, the school’s 10th verbal commitment in its 2008 recruiting class.
“He’s good off the edge” in rushing the quarterback, said Bob Lichtenfels of Scout.com, a national recruiting service. “He’s athletic. He even played receiver in that offense (last fall).
“The thing is with him is that he’s only played a year (of football), so he has potential.”
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